(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a toilet bowl, more particularly, an adjustable trap for use in connection with a standard toilet bowl to allow use of the toilet bowl in various applications.
(2) Description of the Related Art
Toilet bowls are, of course, used in a wide variety of settings. Considering, for example, residential uses, bathrooms of new homes and existing homes have a tremendous variety of configurations. The variety of commercial settings is even more varied. To allow use of a few standard toilet configurations in these wide variety of applications, certain standards have been adopted. In the United States, for example, the drainage trap outlet port, which feeds into the drainage pipe, typically has a center that is 12 inches from the wall adjacent to the back end of the toilet bowl. The vast majority of rough-ins are built to this standard. However, some existing and new rough-ins require a toilet bowl having an outlet port that is either 10 inches or 14 inches from the wall adjacent to the back end of the toilet bowl.
To accommodate these applications, it has been necessary, in the past, to manufacture toilet bowls with at least these specific dimensions. Manufacturing toilet bowls to a varied set of specifications obviously introduces numerous inefficiencies into the manufacturing process. To understand this, it is useful to appreciate that toilet bowls are typically cast, ceramic or molded items. Manufacturing bowls to different standards therefore requires, among other things, a different set of molds and quite often, a different production line. As a consequence, manufacturers are reluctant to provide toilet bowls manufactured to unusual standards such as the 10 inch standard and the 14 inch standard. It follows that there is limited choice and value in these sizes.
Another significant dimension is the height of the toilet bowl from the floor. In the past, in the United States, this dimension has typically been 14 inches. However, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires that any public facility have at least one toilet bowl having a height of 18 inches. Thus, manufacturers are now required to manufacture toilet bowls to two distinct dimensions. This introduces the same types of inefficiencies discussed above.
As noted above, the general approach to meeting the needs for toilet bowls having different dimensions has been to manufacture different sets of toilet bowls meeting these dimensions. Some have attempted to address these problems by providing toilets that can be retrofit in the field by, for example, providing specially-cut extensions to lengthen drain pipes to accommodate unusual applications. Typically such structures do not allow adjustment of the vertical height nor do they allow adjustments in predetermined length segments. In addition, the retrofit approach requires expensive custom installation and can adversely affect the appearance of the toilet fixture. Moreover, the effectiveness of this approach depends, to a large extent, on the skill of the installer, typically a plumber. Thus, quality is inconsistent.
Thus, there remains a need for a toilet bowl configuration that can be used in the various known applications, namely, applications requiring outlet ports centered 10 inches from the edge of the toilet bowl, outlet ports centered 14 inches from the edge of the toilet bowl and outlet ports centered 12 inches from the edge of the toilet bowl. Likewise, there is a need for toilet bowls that have a vertical height of between 17 and 19 inches (normally 18 inches) and the previous standard of 14 inches.